Germany and Sweden previously were targets of Saudi backlashes for calling out the kingdom over human rights abuses.

Freeland sought to understand how they resolved those disputes, and asked for their support, the official said. Ottawa also planned to reach out to regional heavyweight the United Arab Emirates and Britain, which has strong historical ties to Saudi Arabia.

I imagine it went something like this. They apologized and promised to keep their fucking mouths shut.

_________________I haven't figured out how to the block thingy works but if anyone alters my posts I will become really, really angry and throw monkey poop out of my cage.

Canada's amazing metrosexual PM just needs to perform a Saudi Arabian traditional dance in appropriate costume with a sign language aboriginal, and translators for the 84 languages recognized by the Government.....and peoplekind will be convinced of his point of view.

_________________I haven't figured out how to the block thingy works but if anyone alters my posts I will become really, really angry and throw monkey poop out of my cage.

‘We don’t have a single friend’: Canada’s Saudi spat reveals country is alone

As Saudi officials lashed out at Canada this week, the US remained on the sidelines, signaling a blatant shift in the relationship

Soon after Donald Trump took office, it became clear that the longstanding relationship between the United States and its northern neighbour was about to change: there were terse renegotiations of Nafta, thousands of asylum seekers walking across the shared border and attacks on against Canada’s protectionist trade policies.

But this week laid bare perhaps the most blatant shift in the relationship, as the United States said it would remain on the sidelines while Saudi officials lashed out at Canada over its call to release jailed civil rights activists.

“It’s up for the government of Saudi Arabia and the Canadians to work this out,” state department spokesperson Heather Nauert said this week. “Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We can’t do it for them.”

Canada’s lonely stance was swiftly noticed north of the border. “We do not have a single friend in the whole entire world,” Rachel Curran, a policy director under former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, lamented on Twitter.

The United Kingdom was similarly muted in its response, noted Bob Rae, a former leader of the federal Liberal party. “The Brits and the Trumpians run for cover and say ‘we’re friends with both the Saudis and the Canadians,’” Rae wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for the support for human rights, guys, and we’ll remember this one for sure.”

The spat appeared to have been sparked last week when Canada’s foreign ministry expressed its concern over the arrest of Saudi civil society and women’s rights activists, in a tweet that echoed concerns previously voiced by the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia swiftly shot back, expelling Canada’s ambassador and suspending new trade and investment with Ottawa, making plans to remove thousands of Saudi students and medical patients from Canada, and suspending the state airline’s flights to and from Canada, among other actions.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister urged Canada to “fix its big mistake” and warned that the kingdom was considering additional measures against Canada.

Analysts and regional officials said the spat had little to do with Canada, instead characterising Riyadh’s actions as a broader signal to western governments that any criticism of its domestic policies is unacceptable.

Several countries expressed support for Saudi Arabia, including Egypt and Russia. But Canada continued to stand alone, even as state-run media in the kingdom reported the beheading and “crucifixion” of a man convicted of killing a woman and carrying out other crimes.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said Canada was continuing to engage diplomatically and politically with Saudi Arabia. “We have respect for their importance in the world and recognise that they have made progress on a number of important issues,” he told reporters this week.

He insisted, however, that his government would continue to press Saudi Arabia on its human rights record. “We will, at the same time, continue to speak clearly and firmly on issues of human rights at home and abroad wherever we see the need.”

In this particular dispute, Canada did not need US help, said Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa. “Saudi Arabia-Canada relations are very limited, so there’s not a lot of damage being done to Canada right now,” he said. “But this should be a source of major anxiety: when a real crisis comes and we are alone, what do we do?”

The week’s events have added impetus to a conversation that is slowly getting underway in Canada, Juneau said. “We are starting some serious soul-searching in the sense of what does it mean for Canada to have a US that is much more unilateral, much more dismissive of the rules and the norms and of its leadership role in the international order that it has played for 70 years?”

These changes south of the border have clearly emboldened Saudi Arabia, Juneau argued, describing the kingdom’s recent actions in Yemen, Qatar and Lebanon as a pattern of aggressive, ambitious and reckless behaviour.

He saw no immediate end to the row, particularly as neither side is suffering significant costs in the dispute. Saudi Arabia has shown little inclination in recent years to walk back from its reckless and impulsive behaviour, he said, while Canada’s federal government – facing an election in some 14 months and already under fire for signing off on the sale of more than 900 armoured vehicles to Riyadh – is loathe to be seen adopting any kind of conciliatory posture towards the conservative kingdom.

While some in Canada had been disappointed to see the UK and Europe opt to publicly stay out of the diplomatic spat, Juneau described it as unsurprising. “When Saudi Arabia had comparable fights with Sweden and Germany in recent years, did Canada go out of its way to side with Sweden and Germany? No, not at all,” he said. “We stayed quiet because we had nothing to gain from getting involved. So on the European side, the calculation is the same.”

Canada’s lonely stand for women’s rights in the kingdom did earn the support of some around the world; this week saw the Guardian and the New York Times publish editorials urging Europe and the US to stand with Canada. So did the Washington Post, going one step further by publishing their editorial in Arabic.

Their call was echoed by a handful of prominent voices in the US, including Bernie Sanders. “It’s entirely legitimate for democratic governments to highlight human rights issues with undemocratic governments,” the US senator wrote on Twitter. “The US must be clear in condemning repression, especially when done by governments that receive our support.”

_________________I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolutionI could be an inmate in a long-term institutionI could dream to wide extremes, I could do or dieI could yawn and be withdrawn and watch the world go byWhat a waste...

... after Donald Trump took office, it became clear that the longstanding relationship between the United States and its northern neighbour was about to change ...

Haha ... from my side of the border it is the opposite ... "soon after two doors took office, it because clear that the longstanding relationship between Canada and its Southern neighbor had changed ...

==

How many of you recall me saying on numerous occasions ... that we probably have no natural ally on earth ... other than Canada ... well ... two doors proved me wrong ...

And actually, I don't blame two doors ... any more than canuks should blame trumpf .. I blame the voters ... in both cases ... the deplorables in the ooosah ... and the whoNoozwhooz in canada ...

==

_________________Go trumpf Go !!!(will the resident return to being the President?)(will the rainbow shack return to being the White House?)

Does nobody in Canada see the logical inconsistency of welcoming muslim refugees and simultaneously whining about Saudi treatment of women?

Do they really think everyone will stop following the instruction manual when they get to Canada?

I the conditions of the muslims were good in their countries, there would be no reason them to emigrate. So it is just logical to criticize substandard human rights conditions in the shit hole countries. To make them change their evil ways. And not to sell them more weapons the to oppress their people and encourage to attack the neighboring countries and bomb busloads of children to smithereens.

_________________The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt

‘We don’t have a single friend’: Canada’s Saudi spat reveals country is alone

As Saudi officials lashed out at Canada this week, the US remained on the sidelines, signaling a blatant shift in the relationship

Soon after Donald Trump took office, it became clear that the longstanding relationship between the United States and its northern neighbour was about to change: there were terse renegotiations of Nafta, thousands of asylum seekers walking across the shared border and attacks on against Canada’s protectionist trade policies.

But this week laid bare perhaps the most blatant shift in the relationship, as the United States said it would remain on the sidelines while Saudi officials lashed out at Canada over its call to release jailed civil rights activists.

“It’s up for the government of Saudi Arabia and the Canadians to work this out,” state department spokesperson Heather Nauert said this week. “Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. We can’t do it for them.”

Canada’s lonely stance was swiftly noticed north of the border. “We do not have a single friend in the whole entire world,” Rachel Curran, a policy director under former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, lamented on Twitter.

The United Kingdom was similarly muted in its response, noted Bob Rae, a former leader of the federal Liberal party. “The Brits and the Trumpians run for cover and say ‘we’re friends with both the Saudis and the Canadians,’” Rae wrote on Twitter. “Thanks for the support for human rights, guys, and we’ll remember this one for sure.”

The spat appeared to have been sparked last week when Canada’s foreign ministry expressed its concern over the arrest of Saudi civil society and women’s rights activists, in a tweet that echoed concerns previously voiced by the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia swiftly shot back, expelling Canada’s ambassador and suspending new trade and investment with Ottawa, making plans to remove thousands of Saudi students and medical patients from Canada, and suspending the state airline’s flights to and from Canada, among other actions.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister urged Canada to “fix its big mistake” and warned that the kingdom was considering additional measures against Canada.

Analysts and regional officials said the spat had little to do with Canada, instead characterising Riyadh’s actions as a broader signal to western governments that any criticism of its domestic policies is unacceptable.

Several countries expressed support for Saudi Arabia, including Egypt and Russia. But Canada continued to stand alone, even as state-run media in the kingdom reported the beheading and “crucifixion” of a man convicted of killing a woman and carrying out other crimes.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said Canada was continuing to engage diplomatically and politically with Saudi Arabia. “We have respect for their importance in the world and recognise that they have made progress on a number of important issues,” he told reporters this week.

He insisted, however, that his government would continue to press Saudi Arabia on its human rights record. “We will, at the same time, continue to speak clearly and firmly on issues of human rights at home and abroad wherever we see the need.”

In this particular dispute, Canada did not need US help, said Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa. “Saudi Arabia-Canada relations are very limited, so there’s not a lot of damage being done to Canada right now,” he said. “But this should be a source of major anxiety: when a real crisis comes and we are alone, what do we do?”

The week’s events have added impetus to a conversation that is slowly getting underway in Canada, Juneau said. “We are starting some serious soul-searching in the sense of what does it mean for Canada to have a US that is much more unilateral, much more dismissive of the rules and the norms and of its leadership role in the international order that it has played for 70 years?”

These changes south of the border have clearly emboldened Saudi Arabia, Juneau argued, describing the kingdom’s recent actions in Yemen, Qatar and Lebanon as a pattern of aggressive, ambitious and reckless behaviour.

He saw no immediate end to the row, particularly as neither side is suffering significant costs in the dispute. Saudi Arabia has shown little inclination in recent years to walk back from its reckless and impulsive behaviour, he said, while Canada’s federal government – facing an election in some 14 months and already under fire for signing off on the sale of more than 900 armoured vehicles to Riyadh – is loathe to be seen adopting any kind of conciliatory posture towards the conservative kingdom.

While some in Canada had been disappointed to see the UK and Europe opt to publicly stay out of the diplomatic spat, Juneau described it as unsurprising. “When Saudi Arabia had comparable fights with Sweden and Germany in recent years, did Canada go out of its way to side with Sweden and Germany? No, not at all,” he said. “We stayed quiet because we had nothing to gain from getting involved. So on the European side, the calculation is the same.”

Canada’s lonely stand for women’s rights in the kingdom did earn the support of some around the world; this week saw the Guardian and the New York Times publish editorials urging Europe and the US to stand with Canada. So did the Washington Post, going one step further by publishing their editorial in Arabic.

Their call was echoed by a handful of prominent voices in the US, including Bernie Sanders. “It’s entirely legitimate for democratic governments to highlight human rights issues with undemocratic governments,” the US senator wrote on Twitter. “The US must be clear in condemning repression, especially when done by governments that receive our support.”

‘We don’t have a single friend’: Canada’s Saudi spat reveals country is alone

Quote:

Canada’s lonely stance was swiftly noticed north of the border. “We do not have a single friend in the whole entire world,” Rachel Curran, a policy director under former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, lamented on Twitter.

Not actually true.As I previously pointed out, if this incident had involved actual Canadian citizens being in danger, I am pretty sure that the US would have had their back.Trudeau's government decided to virtue signal about something that was internal to Saudi Arabia (aka 'none of Canada's business') and the KSA pushed back.

Quote:

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said Canada was continuing to engage diplomatically and politically with Saudi Arabia. “We have respect for their importance in the world and recognise that they have made progress on a number of important issues,” he told reporters this week.

Hmmm, that is not actually the message that your Foreign Minister was giving off last week.

Quote:

While some in Canada had been disappointed to see the UK and Europe opt to publicly stay out of the diplomatic spat, Juneau described it as unsurprising. “When Saudi Arabia had comparable fights with Sweden and Germany in recent years, did Canada go out of its way to side with Sweden and Germany? No, not at all,” he said. “We stayed quiet because we had nothing to gain from getting involved. So on the European side, the calculation is the same.”

Great point.

Hey PM Trudeau: last year you virtue signalled about Canada being so welcome to refugees (and to spite Pres. Trump).How'd that work out? (thousands of refugees/illegals flooding into your country and your cities having to house people in a sports stadium)

This year you virtue signal the KSA about something (a human rights issues) that is internal to their country. I'm not saying that its necessarily bad to criticize those who are acting badly, but if you do so, you had best be prepared to deal with the potential blow back.

Wearing the big boy pants is not without its risks

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